Karen Ramsey and her dog, Emily, take a walk around their neighborhood. In Englewood, residents have only 72 hours to pick up dog poop[1], or they could get ticketed. (Hyoung Chang, Denver Post file)

The coming of Spring[2] has uncovered a dirty secret in my neighborhood — and maybe yours, too.

Poop. Lots of it.

I live near adjacent elementary and middle schools and the grassy strip around the schools tends to turn into a sheet of ice over the Winter with successive layers of packed snow.

Of course, the sidewalk around the schools makes an irresistible walking path for neighborhood residents to take their dogs.

So every Spring, the arrival of warmer weather reveals piles of poop, the way an Egyptian archeological excavation uncovered the sparkling treasures of King Tut.

Except these artifacts are frozen.

As you can imagine, this is disconcerting to the school principals and teachers. And it often sets off a bit of neighborhood warfare as neighbors point fingers at each other. Is that your dog’s poop, sir? You really must clean it up!

But since poop doesn’t come with name tags, you never know just who the pooper was. Some angry neighbors start guessing.

One left a bag of poop on my front steps, marked “For the Davidsons.” Another woman essentially started stalking me when I walked my dogs, cellphone in hand to summon the authorities. I think she’s out there today, waiting.

“Pet waste left to decay on sidewalks, lawns or common areas is a stinky mess!” the article says, stating the obvious. “Rain and melting snow can wash feces into storm drains, which flow directly into streams or ponds and cause a host of water quality problems. It’s not only a filthy situation; it’s also unhealthy for people and the environment.”

That’s because poop can contain bacteria and parasites that severely sicken people, pets and wildlife, it says.

The article goes on to offer some solid (waste) advice.

First, decrease the fecal volume substantially by feeding pets a premium kibble, which says on the bag that its high digestibility will reduce stool volume.

Second, take a plastic bag or pooper-scooper along on your next pet walk.

What should you do with the waste?

Place the bag — maybe an old newspaper bag (sorry, Denver Post) — into your regular outgoing trash can. “Because people now recognize the responsibility of removing all pet waste, the market has responded with many clever, inexpensive, and small bag mechanisms to make it easy and hands-free,” the article says.

It is also easy to use a pooper-scooper. Many models are available from pet stores and catalogs, the article says. Most have long handles, which prevent bending down, and have retractable handles for the remainder of the walk home.

Once home, put the excrement into a plastic bag and then into your regular household trash.

Double bag waste. “Pet waste must never be disposed of in an exposed manner in a trashcan. Instead, it must be double-bagged (e.g., the small bag containing the waste must be placed inside of a larger bag or trash can liner), in order to protect trash collectors from germs,” according to the article.

Another option is to install an underground pet waste digester that works like a small septic tank. These are also available at pet stores and through catalogs.

Or you can flush it. “This is the least preferred approach because of increased water usage, and the likelihood of other debris such as rocks, sticks, or cat litter getting into household plumbing and creating blockage problems,” the article says, “However, for cats or very small dogs, this is a viable option and can work nicely for some pet owners.”

You never knew poop control could be so complicated, did you?

Whatever you do, do it soon so that the stalker lady can go home and rest. We both thank you.

Be Kind to Animals[5]
American Humane Association’s Be Kind to Animals Week® has been celebrated since 1915, and the highlight of this annual observance is the Be Kind to Animals™ Kid Contest, which recognizes children and teens who show extraordinary kindness to animals and go out of their way to help them. Nominations for two age groups, 6-12 years old and 13-17 years old, will be accepted through April 15. In each age group, the grand prize winner will receive $1,000 and the runner-up will receive $500. Winners will be announced during Be Kind to Animals Week, May 2-8. Contest rules and nomination forms are available at The American Human Association’s website[6].

Help Hearing Dogs
The Bovine Metropolis Theater[7] in Denver will be hosting “Comedy for a Cause,” to benefit Colorado non-profit International Hearing Dog, at 4 p.m. on April 10. Bovine Metropolis will be performing a “Who’s Line is it Anyways” Improvisation Style The event will support the program to adopt dogs from local shelters, care for, train, and place them
with deaf or hard-of-hearing persons, free of charge. Tickets are $20. Go to www.bovinemetropolis.com[8], or call the box office at 303.758.4722.

It never ceases to amaze me how people can be so inconsiderate by letting there dogs leave the mess on the street for all of us to step in. It drives me mad!

In our town we were so fed up with it that we got a group of us together and put a lot of posters up in our street. My favourite is ‘We love your dog, we hates it poo, pick it up!’ It has definitely worked.

Now I have my own dog (cute little terrier) and hate picking up the poo but religiously do. I have just been introduced to a [10] by Dicky Bag. Has anyone got experience of these ones? I am contemplating purchasing it.

Happy dog walking!

#2 Comment By Chums Dog Walking On April 29, 2010 @ 4:19 pm

All dog owners are responsible for the actions of their dogs this includes the biting end and the pooping end. I own a dog care (Home Boarding) business and engage a specialist “poop” man to dispose of any waste in my garden. We also carry poop bags when out on walks. If we want our animals and ourselves to be accepted and loved by the community that we live in we have to scoop the poop.

#3 Comment By Plumbers Oakland On August 8, 2010 @ 3:16 pm

I agree, all dog owners should bring a bag or plastic gloves for the poop of your own dog. It can definitely help clean the surrounding and help prevent the spread of virus or germs if any poop contains.

#4 Comment By lebronjames On September 14, 2010 @ 4:34 pm

Man they are vigilant about poop in that town. Seriously though 72 hours is too long….

#5 Comment By dog poop bags On September 28, 2011 @ 11:56 am

nice blog ..

#6 Comment By Pet Scoop On November 21, 2011 @ 3:46 pm

Thanks for this post, as a reminder that good canine hygiene is not only good manners, but better for the environment and better for the public’s health. If you can’t pick up after your dog, you may want to consider a service (like ours) that can.

#7 Comment By Stoli On November 26, 2011 @ 1:57 am

Picking up dog poop is gross! But, it is every dog owners responsibility to clean their pets mess up. Especially now days with all the local waste stations available at parks and dog friendly areas. Not to mention services like [11] who volunteer to help us all out! C’mon y’all, we got this!